Giffords on guns: former Rep. speaks at gun control hearing

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, a victim of a mass shooting in Arizona back in 2011, spoke out in favor of stricter gun laws in order to prevent further such acts of violence from occurring at a Congressional gun control hearing on Wednesday. In what was described in the Huffington Post as a rather labored speech to Congress, Giffords asked the government, and also the American public to seriously consider new legislation regarding gun laws. "Too many children are dying. We must do something. It will be hard, but the time is now," Giffords said. According to CNN, Congress also heard from those who oppose new gun laws including NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre, whose main concern with adding new legislation was that current laws are not being correctly enforced, and therefore he believes that adding more legislation would not be effective. In addition to under enforcement of the law, LaPierre said, "Law-abiding gun owners will not accept blame for the acts of violent or deranged criminals, nor do we believe that government should dictate what we can lawfully own and use to protect our families." The Huffington Post reported that nearing the close of the hearing, Mark Kelley, Giffords' husband, received news of a shooting in a Phoenix office building leaving three people wounded and the shooter at large.